More talent leaves Infinity Ward, bonuses held in litigation

More talent leaves Infinity Ward, giving up on bonuses Activision is promising …

The very public and ugly breakup of the team behind the Call of Duty games and Activision continues with yet another key player in the game leaving Infinity Ward. Jon Shiring, a programmer on the title who was nearing his sixth year with Infinity Ward, has resigned. Kotaku is also reporting Modern Warfare 2 lead designer Mackey McCandlish has left the company.

Lead designer Todd Alderman and lead software engineer Francesco Gigliotti left Infinity Ward at the beginning of April. So far, none of these men have given solid details about where they're headed, but the newly formed Respawn Entertainment, led by the ousted head of Infinity Ward Jason West and Vince Zampella, is currently hiring. Could there possibly be a connection?

Money is at stake

Dan Amrich, Activision's "social media guy," pointed out that those leaving Infinity Ward may be giving up some cash. "The folks leaving IW are walking away from the bonuses that will arrive when the suits are settled," he wrote on Twitter, pointing to Activision's lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges West and Zampella claimed the bonus money for themselves, and further states that money will be given to Infinity Ward employees if Activision prevails in the lawsuit.

That is assuming, of course, that Activision wins the lawsuit, which could drag on for years.

Activision's lawsuit claims both West and Zampella undermined Activision's authority, refused to take part in meetings, and hired agents to secure future employment outside of the company... among other shady dealings. The documents filed by Activision paint the pair as both scheming and selfish, and accuse them of trying to keep the lion's share of bonus money for themselves while working against the best interests of their parent company.

What can Activision win?

That picture doesn't seem to match the reality of what has happened since Activision fired the studio heads. The duo is being represented by CAA, the same talent agency that counts Steven Spielberg, George Clooney, and David Beckham among its clients. Respawn Entertainment has become an EA Partner, alongside studios such as Valve, Crytek, and Harmonix; EA has the exclusive publishing rights to the as-yet unnamed future titles, the IP for which West and Zampella will own.

Infinity Ward remains with Activision, although the steady talent drain means that the studio may soon be only a name, devoid of the talent that made the games that gave it such a strong reputation. Activision retains the Call of Duty name, but with an aggressive schedule of releases in multiple genres that name may lose its value. Hits, both critical and commercial, come from talent... a lesson Activision is learning to its great expense.

Activision has the bonus money, but money doesn't seem to be enough to keep employees at the battered Infinity Ward. The publisher used the news of the EA deal to take another swipe at the new company. "This agreement comes as no surprise to Activision given the myriad of improper activities detailed in the cross-complaint filed on Friday against Jason West and Vince Zampella. We look forward to continuing to work with Infinity Ward's deep bench of proven talent on exciting new projects," the statement read. If more talent leaves Infinity Ward, and if those that leave begin signing with Respawn, Activision may wish the bench was just a little deeper.